1) The document summarizes the First Public Service Information Day event held in Belize. It recognizes public officers who received certificates in change management and leadership. 2) It discusses the Office of Governance's efforts over the past year and a half to modernize the public service through training, establishing policies and standards, and improving information availability. 3) The Office of Governance aims to improve governance, efficiency, and transparency in the public sector by investing in human capital development and skills training for public officers.

1. THE FIRST PUBLIC SERVICE INFORMATION DAY
Belize Public Service
Princess Hotel, Kings Room
December 4, 2007
Presentation by: Mrs. Myrtle Palacio
Acknowledgements and Big Up to All Public Officers!!!!
We are within a few days of World Aids Day and it is still timely that the Office of
Governance should signal that in keeping with the National HIV/Aids Policy and the
Work Place Policy, the Belize Public Service some three months ago finalized its
HIV/AIDS Policy. In commencing the implementation processes a call for the
nomination of Point of Contacts has been circulated to all Ministries/Departments, and
together we will meet to plan a strategy framework based on the Policy. This policy
establishes a set of guidelines to protect the health and welfare of Public Officers in the
face of the challenge presented by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. It is also based on the
recognition that recruitment, preservation and motivation of high quality employees are
an essential component of an effective Public Service, and one specific objective is to
develop concrete responses within the Public Service to deal with issues of HIV/AIDS
prevention, stigma and discrimination, the productivity of public officers, and the support
of Officers infected or affected by HIV/AIDS.
A year and a half ago, I invited you to embark on a journey of change, of
modernization, to improve performance standards and service delivery through
transforming people and systems.
Since then, the Office of Governance has:
 with the assistance of partners, both local and international sponsored a capacity
building project targeting middle and senior level Public Service; 28 Public
Officers attend short term management and ICT training abroad
 launched a website portal to ensure the availability of information to the public
 implemented the Merit Award Policy & awarded excellence in performance and
initiative
 celebrated Public Service Day, publicly recognize the service of long serving
Officers who have toiled for 25 years or more
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2.  conducted workshops across the country to bring awareness to good governance
principles and the Public Service Regulations
 adopted a strategic direction developed by Public Officers for the Public Service,
emphasizing a customer focused and professional public service
 developed an e-government policy and guidelines for the use of the website portal
 completed a ICT Benchmark Report benchmarking Belize with seven other
countries
 Conducted and completed an e-readiness survey and disseminated the findings to
all partners
So, the Journey continues. . . . . .
Today’s activities mark another first in the many endeavours at modernizing the public
service—changing the way we work. Some 26 senior Public Officers will be awarded
certificates in three areas of Organizational Change Management. The knowledge of
change management enables one to implement the change process, handle obstacles to
change and manage change through encouraging creativity and responsiveness. We are
also recognizing the efforts of three public officers who will be awarded certificates of
appreciation for their leadership roles in planning public service activities. Several public
officers have been responsive to the call for organizing events. These three persons stand
out as persons who have responded to the call every time, no matter the event, no matter
the adversities. We are also witnessing the efforts of four departments in the launch and
implementation of Customer Charters. They have taken the bold step not only to set and
maintain standards, but also to be more customer focused. Last but not least we as Public
Officers are celebrating another effort at bringing government information to the
citizens—the first Public Service Information Day. The Government of Belize comprises
many agencies and as we focus on our customers, the many agencies must be seen as one
government. Over thirty government & statutory boards representing one government,
the Union representing the workers are here today, all under one roof—very much a one-
stop government event.
In furthering its goal to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public service
management, public sector modernization and good governance initiatives, the
Government of Belize established the Office of Governance in October 2005. The Office
of Governance is an amalgam of two government agencies, namely, the Governance Unit
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3. from the Ministry of National Development, and the Public Sector Reform and Human
Resource Management and Development from the now defunct Ministry of the Public
Service. In addition a new business of government, that of Information Communication
Technology (ICT) and Electronic Government (E-government), was later included under
the purview of the Office of Governance. Since December 2006, oversight to the
Elections and Boundaries Department for administrative and financial management was
added to the responsibilities of the Office of Governance.
The Office itself is a reform/modernization endeavour. Whereby, once the functions for
governance initiatives, modernization and public sector management were under separate
managements and institutions of government; this new structure, the Office of
Governance embraces all three abovementioned businesses of government under one
management. According to Charles Polidano, Institute of Development Policy and
Management, University of Manchester, in his publication “Why Civil Service Reform
Fail”, that failure is not so much due to the content (what initiatives) of reform, as with
the approach (how). One advantage in this new governance framework is the ease of
offering more direction to drive governance and modernization initiatives forward.
Good governance provides the enabling, efficient, orderly and transparent environment
for development. In public management it is viewed as an “aspect of the new paradigm
on public administration, which emphasizes the role of public managers in providing high
quality services that citizen’s value and demand. The Public Service plays a vital role, in
providing quality public services to all Belizeans--service delivery that is relevant,
affordable and effective. As such, the services must be delivered by Public Officers who
are responsive, efficient and professional.
Hence the importance of investing in the human capital, as one of the most critical paths
to maintaining good governance practices. Human capital development is an on-going
process of employing various strategies in people development. The Office of
Governance as the leading catalyst for change and as the agency responsible for capacity
building continues to focus on activities aimed at upgrading soft skills and addressing
competency gaps. Along with continuously investing in people, is the promotion of
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4. governance awareness and information dissemination. The past two weeks saw
facilitators from CARICAD engaging senior Officers in the areas of Effective
Management and Managing Performance. Tomorrow through to Friday, Deryck Brown
and Neville Linton from the Governance and Institutional Development Division,
Commonwealth Secretariat will be leading the discussion on the topic “Accountability &
Transparency: Preventing Corruption”.
People---Human Capital, is the next competitive advantage, we---people, are crucial to
organizational success. To survive and thrive we must maximize talent and capability—
and skills training must be continuous. While the OOG will ensure the expertise to
facilitate such, the learners and their managers, such as CEOs, HODs, must exhibit,
show, express accountability through the demonstration of the newly acquired
competencies and aptitudes in their various organizations. Whew!! Change . . .
I recognize partners, UNICEF/UNDP, CARICAD, the Amb. of the Republic of China
(Taiwan) for their assistance to the cause. I applaud all Public Officers for their
commitment and effort in effecting change. I acknowledge and thank my staff, the Office
of Governance a small but dynamic group, for their commitment to excellence and in
understanding the need for change. Lastly, mucho appreciation to the Minister for the
Public Service, the Rt. Hon. Said Musa, Prime Minister of Belize for continuing to
provide the enabling environment to improve service delivery.
One Love!! Seremei, Thank you, Gracias, Tenk Unu!!
Myrtle Palacio
Director, Office of Governance
December 2004
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